Christmas Traditions

Norwegians traditionally put up their Christmas tree on December 23rd.  When we lived there, it was hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit without the tree dominating our living room the entire month of December.  Once the tree is up, they delight in setting it in the center of the room, joining hands, then dancing around it, singing traditional songs.  Since there were only three of us in our house, we skipped that tradition, as well as the one where real candles burn on the tree.

  

The Norwegian Christmas Eve is well scripted, and I dare say, there are not many variations on the theme. Men and boys wear suits and ties, women and girls wear their finest, fanciest dresses. It is the height of formality and it would be a serious sign of disrespect to be in anything less.

Every church has a Christmas Eve service, sometime between one and three in the afternoon. Stores close by one o’clock so as not to compete with church attendance.  The big Christmas dinner follows immediately afterwards.

In our part of Norway, everyone eats the same traditional meal of steamed lamb ribs, sausages, boiled root vegetables and sauerkraut (there wasn’t a green thing on the plate).  Rice pudding is served afterwards.  Whoever gets dished up the one almond hiding in the pudding gets a special prize (usually a marzipan candy pig). That tradition goes way back.

After dinner, the gifts start flowing. There is a bit of a mad dash in the daytime to drop off gifts to different houses because no one opens any gift from anyone until after dinner. To me, it was weird they don’t open it in front of the person who gave it to them, but they don’t.  

Most parents give just one gift to each family member so everyone watches as each gift is being opened.  Since big gatherings are common that night, it’s a long evening. After a few hours, there is a break for coffee and dessert, then back to the gifts. At some point, Julenissen comes knocking on the door with a bag of little treats for “all the good boys and girls.” The Norwegian Santa wears a Halloween type face mask, along with his red and white suit, so he’s far from believable.

We held to some of our own American traditions so I was a bit worried the Christmas police might show up at our house the next morning since we waited to open our gifts until then, and there were not one, but ten gifts with Kaleb’s name on them.  It’s how we Americans do the “merry” part of Christmas.  

Christmas Decorations

Christmas decorations in the stores and homes of Norway are fairly simple.  Hearts are the main symbol of the Christmas season (to me, it felt way too much like Valentine’s Day, though).  Hearts represent God’s love so they put hearts on everything.  The dominate colors of Christmas are red and white but green is no where to be found on any holiday decorations. They don’t have snowmen decorations, and I never did see a nativity scene for sale in any of the stores, which I thought was odd. However, I did see a few angels and more than a few Julenissen (the Norwegian version of Santa). 

Some of the stores decorate in purple and silver, as purple is the official color of Advent.  Many people wear purple all month long, and at no other time of the year.  Purple clothes are definitely confined to December, which I also thought was a little odd.   

Linens of all kinds are huge in Norway year round, but at Christmas, people go all out using special Christmas linens to decorate.  Everyone even changes their kitchen curtains to some kind of Christmas fabric that usually matches their tablecloth or placemats.  Some people even have bedspreads just for the holiday. 

Tradition is that the first Sunday of Advent (four Sundays before Christmas), the lights go up – whether they are on the eves of houses (considered a bit excessive by some) or just electric candles in the windows (the norm.)  Many people also hang big paper stars in their windows.  The stars have holes in them so the tiny light bulb inside shines through, which is my favorite decoration.  Overall, I feel the Norwegian Christmas light displays are pretty lame though, compared to what we are used to in America.  Many people act so thrilled over having even just one extra light burning in the window.  I don’t understand that.

While we were living in Norway, a friend sent me an email with photos attached of Christmas trees from around the world.  Most of them were on the scale of the Rockerfeller Center in New York City with an explosion of light and color.  Not surprisingly, none of the photos were of trees from Norway.  We attended our town’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony and honestly, the tree was at least twenty feet tall and there were maybe thirty lights on the whole thing.  For one strand of very basic white lights, the whole town showed up to applaud the moment when someone flipped the switch.  It was pretty pathetic and hard not to laugh out loud.  I’m not sure, but I think the Norwegian word for “excess” is “American.”

Christmas Preparations

When I was growing up, spring cleaning was a ritual that happened before Easter, but in Norway, the big time cleaning happens before Christmas.  Everyone goes crazy cleaning all their nooks and crannies so the house looks spotless for the holidays. 

All the women I know in Norway just love Christmas.  They love the lights, candles, decorations, special foods, visits and traditions.   The Good Teacher Inga thinks the reason people busy themselves so much with cleaning and baking is because it gives them something to do while they wait out the darkest month of the year.  She said part of the excitement of Christmas is knowing that the sun is about to turn a corner and the short days are soon behind them.   

All kinds of delicacies and culinary treats dominate the stores and homes in December.  My son, Kaleb, and I got hooked on “Julebrus” (Christmas pop), even though we aren’t pop drinkers, but it’s nothing like pop in America.  Special cookies, breads, soups and candies also become available during Advent.  They even sell a Christmas beer, which goes well with the special sausages and different kinds of meats only available during the holidays.  Lamb is cured in a unique way for Christmas and every Norwegian I knew licked their lips just thinking about eating it for Christmas Eve dinner.  Spekkekjøtt, a dried and heavily salted leg of lamb, is also available only at Christmas and my husband waits all year for it.  Lucky for him a Norwegian specialty store in Seattle sells it.  He drives down like a giddy little boy every year to get it, but I make him keep it and eat it in the garage because it stinks up the house.

Christmas in Norway is more like Thanksgiving in America, since it’s primarily about food and fellowship (minus the thankfulness.) Gift giving has never been a big part of Christmas in Norway, until just recently.  It took a few years after I married my very Norwegian husband, to fully understand just why he never bought me Christmas gifts.  It wasn’t a case of neglect, he said, he is just a product of his culture and heritage.  He never got gifts at Christmas when he was growing up, so he doesn’t see the point of doing gifts now as an adult. I have adapted and now buy my own presents, but should the man ever be denied his spekkekjøtt, that, I believe, would be neglect. 

Advent

There is big excitement in Norway when Advent starts.  I spent my whole life without knowing what “Advent” meant, so the tradition was new for me. 

Advent is huge in Norway as it begins the countdown to Christmas.  The candles that get lit on the four Sundays before Christmas “light the way” in anticipation of the birth of Jesus.  It’s all very symbolic and special. I’m glad we got to go through it in Norway where the whole country celebrates it, even if they aren’t professing Christians.

Norway is a Christian nation in word only.  They all believe in the Bible and that Jesus is God’s son and he died on the cross and rose again, but they brush it off with, “We just don’t take it personal.”   Advent is not so much about religion as it is tradition.  There’s not a house in the land that doesn’t have some kind of light in their window for Advent – either a lighted star, or an electric set of candles that sit on an upside down V.  Many houses have lights shining in every window and they all get turned on the first day of Advent. 

It’s so funny how much conformity there is in Norway – no one would dare turn on their lights BEFORE the first Sunday in Advent because, “You just don’t do that.”  (That’s a phrase I often heard about many things.)  There’s a lot of pride in everyone doing things properly, and no one “over does it” with Christmas lights like some American’s do.  Everyone uses only white lights, too.  I guess colored ones are a bit too gaudy by Norwegian standards.

The calendar fills up during Advent as it’s by far the busiest season.  The State Church and schools send out flyers with all the different events going on in December.  Kaleb’s school held a special kick-off party the first day of Advent with the lighting of the school’s Christmas tree at five o’clock on a Sunday.  The school band played a few Christmas songs, the drill team performed a little march to one of the tunes, and after a quick speech, the lights came on the tree and everyone cheered.  They handed out gingersnap cookies, tangerines and hot Glogg (a very tasty Scandinavian Christmas drink).  All of this took place outside on the school playground in below freezing temperatures. 

I’m so impressed by the hardiness the Norwegians have against the elements of nature, and I’m sure had it been raining or snowing, the show would have still gone on to a packed house.  It’s funny, they seem to have God in a box, but they sure don’t want to be.

(PS the photo is of a Norwegian "minimalist" nativity scene. Very funny, ha ha.)